10 significant rule changes in golf for 2019

The New Year will usher in dozens of new rules in the biggest revamp of golf regulations in decades, even if at the recreational level it is more a case of catching up to what many casual players have been doing for years anyway.

Formulated by the US Golf Association and the Royal & Ancient Club of St. Andrews, with input from professional bodies including the PGA Tour, the rules should among other things speed up the game.

Some rules have been revamped for recreational golfers but will stay the same at the elite level. One important example is the procedure for a ball hit out-of-bounds or lost.

Ten significant golf rule changes for 2019, with the US Golf Association's reason for implementing the changes:

1. Old rule - Five-minute limit searching for lost ball.

New rule - Three-minute limit searching for lost ball.

Reason - To speed up play.

2. Old - Two-stroke penalty for grounding club, moving loose impediment or testing the condition in a water hazard (now penalty areas).

New - No penalty for any of these actions in penalty areas.

Reason - Old Rule required complex set of exceptions because a strict prohibition was never practical.

3. Old - Ball must be dropped from shoulder height when taking relief.

New - Drop ball from knee height.

Reason - New relief procedure requires ball to come to rest in the relief area. The lower drop will help speed up taking relief because the ball will come to rest quicker.

4. Old - One-stroke penalty for accidentally moving your ball while searching for it, for example by treading on it or kicking it.

New - No penalty. Just replace ball in original position, including in a bad lie if that’s where it was estimated to have been before being moved.

Reason - No advantage is gained when accidentally moving your ball.

5. Old - Two-stroke penalty for removing loose impediments, such as stones and leaves, in bunker, as long as your ball does not move.   

New - No penalty.

Reason - The challenge of playing from a bunker is playing out of sand. Loose impediments can now be removed anywhere on the course, simplifying what players need to know.

6. Old - One-stroke penalty for hitting your ball more than once during a stroke.

New - No penalty. Just count the one stroke and play on.

Reason - No advantage gained by hitting your ball twice.

7. Old - One-stroke penalty for accidentally moving your ball on the green.

New - No penalty. Just replace your ball in original spot.

Reason - No advantage is gained by accidentally moving your ball.   

8. Old - Flagstick must be removed when putting from on the green

New – Putting permitted with flagstick in.   

Reason - To speed up play.     

9. Old - Electronic distance-measuring devices prohibited, unless local rule adopted to allow use.

New - Such devices allowed, unless local rule adopted to prohibit use.

Reason - Inclusivity. Almost all courses already allow them by local rule.

10. Old - Free relief when ball embeds in areas cut to fairway height or less, unless local rule adopted to all relief anywhere expect water hazards (now penalty areas) and sand.   

New - Free relief anywhere except in penalty areas and sand, unless local rule adopted to limit relief only to areas cut to fairway height or less.

Reason - Inclusivity. Almost all courses already allow relief anywhere except water hazards and sand.